Coach John Pont Will Be Remembered For Starting Mount St. Joseph Lions Football
July 1, 2008 (Mount St. Joseph Release)
CINCINNATI, OH-- The prolific college coach John Pont, who took Indiana University to the Rose Bowl and established Division III football in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the College of Mount St. Joseph, died Tuesday (July 1, 2008), at age 80, at his home in Oxford, Ohio, following a long illness.
"With everything he has done in his career, I think he was most proud of starting football at the Mount in 1990," says Head Coach Rod Huber. "He started at the Mount with a vision of what Division III football could become. There was no field, so he and his crew planted one. There were no locker rooms, so he built some. He gave the chance to play college football to guys who loved the game but who sat on the bench in high school. And look at where we are today because of him - with one of the finest facilities in the nation, conference championships, and winning seasons. Guys want to play football at the Mount."When the Mount held a press conference in 1989 to announce that it was starting the first small college football program in Greater Cincinnati, Coach John Pont sent in his resume. The president and staff at the Mount were stunned to hear from this legendary coach who had a stellar career as a running back at Miami University of Ohio and as a coach at Miami , Yale , Indiana , and Northwestern. Coach Pont was attracted to the challenge of starting a football program.
"We are so indebted to what John Pont did for the Mount 19 years ago," says Coach Huber, who was hired as an assistant coach by John Pont in 1990. "We all admired the way that he started football at the Mount which had been a women's college for 60 years before going co-ed. He had a vision and knew that it would take time to build a program. But he had tremendous patience and loved working with the kids. He never forgot who we were and our roots as a college founded by the Sisters of Charity."
Huber adds, "My phone has been ringing all day with calls from those guys who played on those first teams. They remember. They know what it was all about. Today they are teachers, lawyers, doctors, but they all shared that experience of playing for Coach Pont on those first teams. Coach Pont was most proud of those guys."
Coach Pont left the Mount at the end of 1992 season to start a professional football team in Japan . But he always stayed in touch with his friends and colleagues at the Mount and returned often to catch the Mount Lions playing at home. He attended the ceremonies for the grand opening of the Mount Sports Complex and Schueler Field in 2004. In 2005, the College named the Head Football Coach's Office in Coach Pont's name.
Coach Pont, was 9-20 during his three seasons (1990-1992) as the Lions' head football coach. In those days when the Mount was expanding its athletics program, Coach Pont also was the first coach of the Mount's first men's tennis team in the spring of 1991. He compiled a 98-121-3 coaching record in 23 years before coming to the Mount. He claimed his 100 th career coaching win on Sept. 7, 1991, when the Mount defeated Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 32-27. Pont finished his career with a 107-141-3 career coaching mark.
Coach Pont received his bachelor's degree (1952) and his master's degree (1956) from Miami University , Ohio . While at Miami , he played running back and set numerous school records. After graduation, his jersey, number 42, became the first of only two retired at Miami .
He played professional football in Toronto from 1952 to 1953 before launching his coaching career in 1953 at Miami University as head freshman football and basketball coach. Pont was head football coach at Miami (1956-1962), Yale University (1963-1966), Indiana University (1965-1973) and Northwestern University (1973-1980), where he also served as director of athletics from 1974 to 1980. He was a member and past president of the Miami Cradle of Coaches Association, Miami University . Before coming to the Mount in 1990, Coach Pont was athletic director (1986-1989) and head football coach (1985-1988) for Hamilton High School .
While at Miami , Pont led his team to two Mid-American Conference championships and a trip to the Tangerine Bowl. In 1967, Pont's Indiana University team won the conference co-championship in the Big Ten and went to the Rose Bowl. He was honored as Coach of the Year by football writers and coaches associations. He compiled a 99-128-3 coaching record in 22 years before coming to the Mount.
In 1990, the news of starting football at the College of Mount St. Joseph under John Pont captured the attention of the national media including "Sports Illustrated" and a television feature story by Charles Kuralt on the "CBS Sunday Morning" show.
"We would not be where we are today without John's vision and commitment," said Coach Huber. "He stood for everything that is good about football, for everything that is right about college football. He was as proud of his first Mount Lions team as he was of his Division I teams at Indiana . John was a players coach. It was always about the players."
Visitation will be on Sunday, July 6 from 3-6 p.m. at Oxford 's Smith and Ogle Funeral Home (5086 College Corner Pike). A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Oxford on Monday, July 7 at 10 a.m. Burial will be in the Miami University section of the Oxford Cemetery. The public is invited to attend all of the observances.
The College of Mount St. Joseph is an undergraduate and graduate Catholic college of 2,300 students that provides an interdisciplinary liberal arts and professional curriculum emphasizing values, service and social responsibility. The College offers 21 sports programs for men and women.